‘Ancient faith, modern lives’ – a NewsWorks special on Catholicism in the Philadelphia region

In lieu of Radio Times in Review, a WHYY/NewsWorks special on Catholicism in the Philadelphia region – ‘Ancient faith, modern lives’ – hosted by Mary Cummings-Jordan.

“The leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is also a head-of-state, so the visit of Pope Francis to Philadelphia has been the focus of frenzied news outlets, excited pilgrims, and some very anxious Philadelphians. But there are thousands in the region for whom the hubbub around the pope’s visit seems like a curious reaction. What’s the big deal, they say?

To understand that, we are exploring the roots of Catholicism. As part of this special, we bring you a brief history of the church in the Philadelphia area and a look at the local Catholic community of the 21st Century.
We also bring you the voices of Catholics participating in the seven sacraments — rituals that mark critical points in their lives.

They are: baptism, holy Eucharist — also known as communion, reconciliation — also called confession, confirmation, marriage, holy orders, and anointing of the sick – formerly called Last Rites.”